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HIGHLIGHTS
On July 30–August 1, the National Governors Association held its 2026 Summer Meeting in Oklahoma City, where Western Governors and industry leaders discussed energy, infrastructure, AI, and federalism. A luncheon discussion between Oklahoma Governor Stitt and Intersect CEO Sheldon Kimber highlighted the growing intersection of data-center growth, water consumption, and energy infrastructure across the West.
On July 13, the comment period closed on BLM’s proposed rule restructuring grazing administration, which would decouple water quality from the “Fundamentals of Land Health” and place new requirements on stockwater rights. Western states, including Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, and WSWC, raised significant concerns about the proposal’s treatment of state water rights, water quality oversight, and potential conflicts with state water law.
On August 4, NAWI hosted a webinar introducing its “NAWI 2.0” framework, anchored by a new Regional Water Systems pillar and backed by a five-year, $75M DOE renewal grant. Presenters detailed findings from 165 stakeholder interviews and outlined a new Request for Information seeking input on regional water system studies.
On July 31, the Bureau of Reclamation published the Final EIS for Post-2026 Colorado River Operations, establishing a 10-year adaptive framework to replace the 2007 Interim Guidelines amid record-low reservoir levels.
